Gears would have to be really well made, otherwise it won't roll well and you would lose speed. I think a better chance would be to use two cylinders and the rope as the belt between them.
That being said, you'd get the same effect with pulleys and belt. Hand carving wooden pulleys or turning them on a simple pole lathe with a sharp or abrasive rock would much easier than making gears.
Clay gears would likely not work well. They'd be very uneven and probably just grind each other off. Wooden gears would be more feasible (which look very different) but that also would require tools for higher precision. And if we go the gears route, he might as well would use a water wheel to power the whole thing instead of doing it my hand.
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A new kiln design and the first attempts at forging - Primitive Technology is making progress towards achieving the Iron Age from scratch!
As always, turn on closed captions for the complete experience. This video in particular had a lot of info in the captions.
Gears would have to be really well made, otherwise it won't roll well and you would lose speed. I think a better chance would be to use two cylinders and the rope as the belt between them.
If you're looking for reliable, primitive gears: look at an old watermill's wooden "crown wheel" and pinion.
That being said, you'd get the same effect with pulleys and belt. Hand carving wooden pulleys or turning them on a simple pole lathe with a sharp or abrasive rock would much easier than making gears.
Clay gears would likely not work well. They'd be very uneven and probably just grind each other off. Wooden gears would be more feasible (which look very different) but that also would require tools for higher precision. And if we go the gears route, he might as well would use a water wheel to power the whole thing instead of doing it my hand.